Aaron Godwin
= Personality = Aaron (or Lord Godwin as he tends to be formally known among the local Kindred) takes a rather fatherly attitude towards those that live in Crystal Springs. He looks after them, sees to their needs and wants, and disciplines them if they misbehave, all out of a sense of duty. After all, the young must be taught, and far better for it to be by his hand than at the claws and fangs of their true adversaries. As such, he tends to be friendly, though distant, but never cold (unless you've done something to bring his ire, then Caine help you, the Ventrue could probably flense a man to the bone with mere words). = Connections = = Sheet = Stats Attributes: : Physical: Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3 : Social: Charisma 4, Manipulation 5, Appearance 4 : Mental: Perception 3, Intelligence 3, Wits 4 Abilities: : Talents: Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Dodge 2, Empathy 2, Insight 2, Integrity 2, Intimidation 2, Persuasion 2, Resistance 2, Subterfuge 2, Vigilance 2 : Skills: Animal Ken 1, Drive 1, Etiquette 2, Leadership 3(5), Marksmanship (Pistols) 1, Melee (One-handed Swords) 2, Survival 1 : Knowledges: Academics 2, Culture (High Society) 2, Finance (Stock Market) 4, Law 2, Linguistics 3, Lore (Garou) 1, Military Tactics 1, Occult 3, Politics 3 Advantages: : Disciplines: Dominate 3, Fortitude 3, Presence 5, Celerity 1 : Banality: 8 : Backgrounds: Elder Generation 3, Resources 5, Status 5, Influence 2, Contacts 5, Retainers 5 : Virtues: Conscience 2, Self Control 4, Courage 4 : Humanity: 5 : Willpower: 8 : Blood Pool: 20 (4 per turn) : Merits: Code of Honor (2 pt), Natural Leader (1 pt) : Flaws: Deep Sleeper (1 pt), Enemy (2 pt) Code of Honor Aaron was raised as a gentleman long before he was ever Embraced into the Ventrue. He was taught the niceties of the polite duel, the rules of combat, and what at the time was considered "proper" behavior. This training is hard to shake off, even if he wanted to. As such, Aaron will not strike another while their back is turned, tends to openly challenge those that deserve it, and will kindly wait for you to get to your feet and take your glasses off before decking you. The flipside of this is that if an opponent betrays that understanding of honor, say by striking from behind or taking unfair advantage of another, Aaron has no qualms about teaching them their place for their transgression. Enemy After his arrival in Crystal Springs, but before the War of the Hope Drinker, Aaron was instrumental in securing the Camarilla an early foothold within the city, leading fellow Kindred in efforts to chase off those few Sabbat insurgents they identified. He personally shamed and humbled the leader of one war-pack, cowing the man in a staredown in front of his entire pack before "allowing" them to flee the borders of the city. Perhaps leaving this foe alive was a mistake, but Aaron was never one to let prudence come before honor. Specialties ; Academics:Raised as a gentleman, Aaron learned all the classics as was right and proper. ; Animal Ken:While he was alive, Aaron learned how to ride horses and hunt with both hound and falcon. Though his skills are understandably rusty after all this time, he still remembers the basics well enough. ; Appearance:While definitely attractive, Aaron's looks are geared (and groomed) more towards the quiet sort of authority that comes with experience. He'll never be a teen heart-throb, but when he walks into a room, people tend to pause and at least glance his way. ; Charisma:Despite the detachment that nearly two centuries of life tends to bring, Aaron's just a likable guy, for the most part. People tend to smile when he smiles at them, laugh at his jokes, that kind of thing. ; Culture:While he's not the sort to pick out all the little things of a society's makeup, Aaron has a way of moving through high-society like he was born into it. Which, well, he was. ; Drive:Rather than let progress pass him by and huddle in his haven, Aaron is fascinated by the advance of technology. As such, he set out to learn how to drive a car, though anything more complicated than an automatic transmission is beyond him. ; Finance:Some Ventrue leave it to their pawns and toadies to see to their wealth. Aaron has learned in nights long, long past that if you want something done right, you usually have to do it yourself. An old hand at the stocks game, he was one of the few that not only didn't lose much in the recent crash, but actually turned a healthy profit, and has always had a good eye for a potential investment, be it stock or service. Or even something more... personal. ; Linguistics:Aaron is fluent in Medieval English, Modern English, French, German, and Italian. ; Lore:Largely due to the events of the War of the Hope Drinker, the Silent War, and the recent "truce" with the garou, Aaron's learned a few things about these terrifying skinshifters. ; Manipulation:Where Aaron really shines in the social arena is in his ability to get people to do what he wants, even if they don't realize it. Leading statements, partial information, sometimes even outright lies, all serving to steer his prey into the course he wishes. He's gotten so practiced at this that sometimes people never realize just how carefully he's played them, even after the plan has come to fruition. ; Marksmanship and Melee:During his navy days, it was part of day-to-day life that one needed to know how to use saber and pistol. While he may not have been the sort of soldier that others of his calling were, he still knows at least which end of a handgun to point forward, and which end of the sword goes in the other guy. ; Wits:In the game of social chess, this Ventrue is rarely outmaneuvered. While others plot and plan their strategies long in advance of the actual confrontation, Aaron has long since proven adept at adapting any such of his on a moments' notice. Or maybe he simply makes them up on the fly. Nobody's really been able to tell... Contacts Aaron has contacts within most branches of the Crystal Springs government, most notably the police, as well as within the property and civil planning divisions. He also has the ear of a fairly high level clerk in the civil maintenance division, as well as the manager of the historical Crystal Springs Hotel Resort and Spa. Retainers Aaron's retinue includes five ghouls, two of which he keeps with him at his penthouse, one as a secretary (Alex), another as a sort of doorman (Charles), overseeing the sometimes clandestine movements of Kindred to and from Elysium. His other three hold, if not powerful, certainly useful positions within the city's infrastructure. One oversees part of the Tri-Med medical complex, the second is a worker at one of the local trash-disposal plants, and the third is fairly high up in the hierarchy of the Diamond Caves Company. Prey Exclusion Being a Ventrue, Aaron can only feed from people of a given social strata. His "prey of choice," as it were, is warriors. That is to say, people who have served actively in the military and attained at least the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, or equivalent. While it is possible he could feed upon those with similar accomplishments but no formal rank, he's unwilling to test this and instead simply keeps touch with a few old friends in the military. The fact that several of his ghouls fit this format is purely coincidence, we assure you. Advancement Advancement History = History = Public Record Aaron Lazarus Godwin (official birthday 11/06/1971) is, for the most part, a rather private man. He doesn't tend to mingle too much with the masses, doesn't seem to go out to movies or suchlike, though he does attend the occasional nighttime art show or auction. Sometimes he even buys something. As for his income, he's one of those disgusting people that appear to be independently wealthy, being something of a demon in the stock market. For instance, not only did he not lose most everything in the recent recession, he actually turned a tidy profit amidst all the screaming and panic. He owns a rather nice penthouse that takes up one entire floor of the Williams Building in Highcliff, has its own private elevator, and is completely aboveboard and legal. He even had it checked for proper fire code in June of '09. Assumed to not be his only residence, but nobody is forthcoming with where else he might live (or maybe they just don't know). Also, through a decent chain of intermediaries, he has supplied startup funding to several local progressive companies, including but not limited to both Grey Incorporated and Baldwin Technologies & Sciences. Nice little low-interest loans, gentle on the pockets while still getting him a bit of profit in the meantime. It seems his interest in this field lies in promoting development in the direction of safer, cheaper, and easily assembled building technologies. Some charities make large of this, saying he wants to supply housing for third-world countries. Aaron has never commented on this one way or the other. The fact that he wasn't directly handing over the money himself seems less an attempt to remain secret and more just wanting to make sure all the proper forms are filled out to avoid the IRS or similar agencies chasing him around with torches and pitchforks. He gives freely to charities for veterans and families of veterans, as well as donating extensively to the fire department, police force, and nearly every local hospital as well as other civil-maintenance divisions. He holds no official power within the Crystal Springs government, but it's widely theorized he has the ear of several powerful men in the city's infrastructure, if for no other reason than they owe him money or favors. True Life The man now known as Aaron Godwin has, in a way, been touched by death his entire life. Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales had not been lucky in children. Her first two pregnancies had ended in miscarriages, but this time, the doctors were being extra careful. In this day and age however, that meant a heavily regulated diet with little actual food, and periodic bloodletting. After 50 hours of labor, a nine-pound boy was delivered... apparently stillborn. The midwives rushed off with the child while the doctors turned their attentions to the mother. Initially following delivery, Charlotte seemed to do well, but after several hours she became restless, had difficulty breathing, and her pulse grew fast and feeble. Five and a half hours after the delivery, she died, presumably from an undetected postpartum hemorrhage, on 6 November. In all the confusion, the fact that the boychild was not actually dead got somehow lost in the scuffle. Perhaps it was because he had nearly white hair while both of his parents were brunettes, and the midwife thought it best to just let loose ends tie themselves up. Besides, there were plenty of women in the palace that wished a child of their own. And so, over the years, he grew from babe to youth and on. From early in his life, though, there was talk that the boy had something of a fey air around him, the stare of a man in the face of a boy. Perhaps there is more to a man than who raises him. Perhaps blood does win out. As he grew older, the youth joined the Royal Navy as did many of his age. And from the beginning, he showed a gift for command. This was not always the blessing it may sound like, as his superiors often found themselves speared upon his dark stare and asked with exquisite politeness to justify their somewhat ludicrous mandates. Aaron's ascent through the ranks was not easy, but neither was it particularly stuttering. The fact that his performance in the field was exemplary helped. Especially, in his 22nd year of life, when the First Opium War started. It was during this war that Aaron would show just what he was capable of... to perhaps the wrong eyes. Men died, ships sank to the bottom, and all over drug money. Whatever the reason, Aaron dragged those men under his command through fire and storms, at times keeping them on their feet through sheer force of charisma. They didn't dare lay down and give up, not with the Shining Captain leaning his back to the ropes and howling encouragement alongside them. And in the end, when the war ground to its close and his ship limped back into port, the man touched by fate was approached with a very strange offer. He was nearly 25 the night he became one of the Kindred, of Clan Ventrue. The next hundred years were not a particularly strange time for the fledgling vampire. Certainly, he had to make some adjustments to his thinking, but things had always seemed a little strange to him while alive. The slightest bit off, as though the world were being viewed through a not-quite-clear pane of glass. Perhaps it was the odd circumstances of his birth. No matter, that was past. He learned the ways of his new people, learned the ways of leadership from his sire, learned the ways of undead politics from his fellows. And he learned well. By the turn of the century, Aaron was well free of his sire's oversight, and he turned his sights across the Atlantic, to that land that he had heard so much about and had yet to visit. America. For by this time, the land of his birth was becoming far too noisy and dangerous, for the Second World War was upon the land, and Aaron found himself wishing for a life perhaps somewhat quieter. It was early in the year 1943 when he first set foot in Crystal Springs, Colorado. He had taken his time, moving from the east coast inland, seeing the sights, listening to the people, learning. This land, too, was gripped by the War, but at least it was not in danger of the firebombings that had wracked his old home. And the people had a certain determination, a certain zest for life, that he could appreciate, even praise. And here in this city, the possibilities were... endless... Sadly, it was not to last. The Drinker of Hope awoke, and people died by the scores, kine and Kindred and others. Aaron was spared the Final Death in those hectic days, partly through planning, partly through luck. He avoided the front line, leaving the grim and hellish job of war to those better suited to it, instead falling back on what he knew. Namely, he led. Orders flew among the childer of Caine, praise and scathing rhetoric falling where it was earned, each in turn. Indeed, it was partly owing purely to this one Ventrue that the Kindred losses were as light as they were, though the toll was still dark and terrible. After the War finally drew to a close, many of the survivors left for quieter cities, and many of those that remained withdrew as fully as they could into their secure havens, forsaking mortal and undead society alike to lick their wounds. Sadly, the respite was not to last. A mere few years later, the local werewolves flew into a frenzy of slaughter. Kindred died almost too fast to count, many casualties only being realized as such long after the fact, so violent was the assault. After the storm of Rage and death had passed, very, very few Kindred were left in Crystal Springs. One of them was the man that now calls himself Aaron Godwin, watching silently from the deep shadows. Indeed, it would not be until mid-2009 that the world would see the hand of the Kindred at work again in that city, though they were far from gone. Merely careful, and canny, and far too aware of just how precarious their situation was. They had watched the Namebreaker War unfold, watched both the lupines and the Mages tear each other to bloody shreds, and realized that this was their chance. Now they could take back what was theirs. With the local werewolves reduced to a mere handful, Aaron approached the leadership in person with something of an ultimatum. Or perhaps an offer. "We watched you fight and die for your beliefs, and we see you now, bloodied and shattered upon the rocks of adversity. We shall not strike a worthy foe while he lies on his back. Remember this." Honor was preserved on both sides, though the balance was precarious at best, and the Ventrue knew better than to overstay his welcome at the edge of the wolf-kins' territory. But the line had been drawn, and left uncrossed. To this day, he maintains his perch atop Crystal Springs, watching the city below, keeping his hand upon the Kindred that call this place their home. For he knows that order is essential in these delicate times, knows that even the slightest discrepancy could spell disaster not simply for him, but for all the Kindred under his watch. = Logs = ; 6/29/2009: Aaron finds something interesting in the sewers... Log ; 7/11/2009:A newcomer to the city introduces herself to the Prince, and gives him some warnings. Log ; 7/16/2009:The game's afoot! Kennedy tries a little snooping with Aaron's secretary. Log ; 7/27/2009:A little girl with big problems steps into Aaron's parlor. Log ; 8/04/2009:Aaron enters into a little business agreement with a certain swordsman. Log ; 10/03/2009:A little chance meeting between two connoisseurs of the arts. Log ; 10/04/2009:A business dinner turns into a brief battle of wits, leaving Aaron much amused. Log ; 10/06/2009:An invitation to Pennons, one anachronism to another. Log ; 11/14/2009:Nick asks a bit of a favor from Aaron, who has some fun at his expense (and nearly his own). Log ; 11/15/2009:Some repercussions of the previous night, and a bit of snarling between the leaders of two very different worlds. Log ; 11/20/2009:A more sedate discussion with someone a step removed from the little misunderstanding. Log ; 1/18/2010:A local journalist stops by to interview Mr. Godwin. Log ; 1/19/2010:Having heard talk of one of the wolfkin sniffing about among his underlings, Aaron decides to check in on her. Log ; 3/14/2010:After a delightful little performance, the Prince gives the star a little tour. Log ; 4/09/2010:An aspirant beta comes to talk to the Prince. Log ; 4/18/2010:Some sneaky shenanigans with the Prince's collection! Log Category:Camarilla Category:NPCs Category:Vampires Category:Ventrue